quickest above treeline hike near boulder ?

slow work means lots of days off, which means looking for things to do with my doggie.

sanitas and red rocks and stuff like that are sort of lame after awhile. i know one thing i like to do in the summers is go up into the indian peaks and just hike....its relatively easy to get up high, and not that far from town. but in the winter the road to rainbow lakes campground isn't plowed, and it takes 2+ hours just to hike that road, and probably another 2 to get above the trees (and i don't want to get eaten by a hungry mountain lion in those 8 hours of slogging through the woods alone)

any suggestions?

i know its asking a lot and may not be feasible, i also realize i'd be up against some major post holing in spots, and i'd certainly go prepared. but with such a dry january i'd love to take advantage and be up high, hiking around.

Have you done the S Boulder Peak/Bear Peak hike? Not above treeline but it's my favorite close-in hike. On top of the peaks you can get some sweet views and those trails are relatively empty compared to the rest of the Boulder network. Start from the mesa TH near Eldo and head up Shadow Canyon.

As mentioned.. I believe Caribou Rd is plowed all winter. From there you can catch the FS roads and then split off towards Arapahoe Peak. This is probably the closest I can think of from Boulder. Last time I did it, it was more of a snowshoe as you got closer to Arapahoe.

Next closest would probably be hiking up from Moffat Tunnel. Again, still a haul until you hit treeline.

Don't worry about the kitties though. They'll eat the puppy long before you.

i lived a on caribou for awhile. the areas a little too familiar to keep it interesting on foot.

i like the moffat suggestions though, i'll try that out. thanks!

Don't worry about the kitties though. They'll eat the puppy long before you.

that's actually what i'm most worried about. though i don't see why they all don't just come down to lee hill or sugarloaf to get full. the deer down low don't even flinch when you're 5 feet away. easy pickings for a big kitty.

thanks for the suggestions. need to find some skins on craigslist for my teles for next time. though it was packed down almost the whole way...and i passed skiers on my way up, and passed some on the way down too using just hiking boots.